Cartridge guns, also known as cartridge presses, are known in the art, and may be used for pressing out pasty materials from cartridges, e.g. sealing materials, adhesive materials, and the like. In general, these cartridge presses comprise a shell for receiving a cartridge wherein the shape of the shell matches the external shape of the cartridge. One side of the shell is fastened to the handle of the cartridge press and comprises a recess in which a pressure rod with the stamp attached thereto is displaceable. The opposite side of the cartridge press is slotted, so that the tip of the cartridge which comprises a displaceable floor acting as a piston can be placed in said slot. The pressure rod, comprising an actuating member in the form of a swivelable trigger lever, can be pushed forward by a gun-like actuating or triggering mechanism. The pressure rod is moved a short step forward during each triggering movement. The actuating mechanism comprises an advancing element which is pushed forward by the manual movement of the actuating member and entrains the pressure rod. When the actuating member is released, the advancing element slides back onto the pressure rod.
A major disadvantage in the above-described cartridge presses is their overall size, resulting in added weight of the cartridge presses. The cartridge holder is generally made of sheet metal or the like, which results in a relatively high consumption of material. Approximately half the material required for such cartridge presses is used for the construction of the cartridge holder, which has an effect on the overall weight of the cartridge gun. A reduction of the share of material of the cartridge holder and a reduction in the weight is therefore desirable. A further disadvantage of these cartridge holders is that the insertion and removal of the cartridges is cumbersome because they frequently jam.
DE G89 01 028.0 discloses a hand press gun, in which a screw cap with an inside thread is attached to the face side of a gun grip, into which a threaded ring with an external thread and axial bore is screwed. The cartridge, comprising a flange at the rear end, is pushed from behind through the threaded ring until the flange abuts on the rear side of the threaded ring, and the threaded ring is screwed into the screw cap.
EP-A2-1 034 847 discloses a cartridge press with a cartridge holder comprising claws having free ends which engage in the outside wall of a cartridge pushed into the holder. The claws dig slightly into the material of the cartridge, so that the cartridge is held in a secure manner. A displaceable sleeve is pressed against the cartridge holder and against the claws for removing the cartridge from the cartridge holder, as a result, the cartridge can be pulled from the cartridge holder.
The above-mentioned hand press gun and cartridge press have the disadvantage in that the exchange of cartridges is cumbersome and time-consuming. A threaded ring or a sleeve needs to be unscrewed first or actuated before the cartridge can be removed from the cartridge holder. This manipulation is cumbersome because the process requires three actions: holding the gun, unscrewing the threaded ring and pressing the cartridge against the claws, and removing the empty cartridge from the cartridge gun.